The reason behind this decision was the intensified activities of the Ukrainian military forces in the Luhansk People’s Republic

Militiamen at a checkpoint near Luhansk

LUHANSK, June 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Luhansk’s international airport is to suspend all regular passenger and chartered flights, the press service of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

The press service said that “the air hub is to suspend its activity from 07.00 pm Moscow time on Monday and will resume its work after a special order.”

The reason behind this decision was “the intensified activities of the Ukrainian military forces in the Luhansk People’s Republic,” it said.

On Friday, June 6, people’s militia in the LPR said it had repelled an air raid on the city, the chief of the LPR press-service, Vladimir Inogorodsky, told ITAR-TASS.

“There has been an attempted air raid by two drones and two warplanes. An air alert was announced and fire opened. The planes - Sukhoi-27 fighter jets - left. They had approached from Chuguyev, a base near Kharkiv. The drones are still roaming around,” Inogorodsky said.

According to earlier reports, the air space over the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine has been closed.

“We declare an air alert in case of any intrusion into the air space,” Inogorodsky added.